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So, I'm running CHKDSK on my single-partitioned 450-ishGB HDD using Shift+F10 with Win7 repair disk.

I got about 2300 bad sectors, some affecting Windows/system32 directory. It's been running about 12 hours and it got stuck on some file in Stage 4. And I need to save some files, like projects or such before formatting it.

Should I stop CHKDSK and try xcopy to save these files, or should I wait more hoping that would end? If so, how long is the limit?

HDD is 1 year-ish old, still in warranty range. I can't boot in Win8, I don't have any kind of recovery disk-usb; but I got Win8 in iso format (legal, of course).

I can provide any background info required.

More Info

I've already decided to send the pc to tech support since the warranty is still active. Also I have an external HDD (160 GB) for copying the files to.

I just need to save some files and I have a priority order. If I can't save the files, I'll just use tree to see those files and get them from somewhere else.

Conclusion

I stopped(force closed actually) CHKDSK to attempt to get a tree list for documents. Entering C:/ gave "This operation can't completed due to an I/O error".

Well, that meant the end.

From now on, when I start the pc, I get those clicks. Unfortunately, I know what that means.

It looks that I lost a lot of data; movies, games and projects. On the other hand, I had backups of some of the projects. This should be a lesson to others having the same situation. Backup first, troubleshoot later.

TheSaurus
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    Don't abort the chkdsk until it reaches 24 hrs, if there is any data you want to recover (aborting chkdsk can damage data if you are unlucky). Then buy a new disk. Bad sector count of more than a handful is a sign of a very damaged disk. Formatting will not fix that. Check the SMART stats (I use speedfan in windows to read SMART info) to confirm that chkdsk is correctly citing the current status. pay particular attention to Reallocated Sector Count and Current Pending Sectors count, but if there are more than a handful, it is likely that your disk is already in a failed state. – Frank Thomas Jul 09 '15 at 11:47
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    You are in a tricky situation. If you wait the changes are any files on a bad sector will be lost, then the filesystem will be updated, to prevent orphan files form existing if you allow chkdsk to continue. But if you go ahead and end the scan, and copy the file, you still have to deal with corrupt files if the files are on bad sectors. With the amount of bad sectors you have, and the lost of system files, there is no doubt your HDD needs to be replaced under warranty. I wouldn't cancel the scan, for the reasons Frank brought up, but thats just me personally. – Ramhound Jul 09 '15 at 11:47
  • @FrankThomas I run Kali linux before attempting this and I got an alert stating one of my disks need attention, I selected my HDD and SMART STATUS = FAILURE IMMINENT Rellocated Sector Count : Normally : 1 Capped(or max, I'm not sure) : 1 Value : 0 Current pending sector count: 2280 I know my disk is a goner, but I'm trying my best to recover some of the files. – TheSaurus Jul 09 '15 at 11:59
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    gotcha. well the professional approach requires at least one hdd of equal or greater size, and involves using tools like `ddrescue` to take an image of the damaged disk, to the new media. Then you can attempt filesystem maintenance on the volume, or use data recovery tools (TestDisk/PhotoRec/Recuvva/Easus/etc) to recover any retreivable files. See here for tips on how to use ddrescue (be warned it may take days; no exerageration): http://superuser.com/questions/786488/ddrescue-did-i-do-the-wrong-command-which-is-causing-it-to-take-longer-then-ex – Frank Thomas Jul 09 '15 at 12:06

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